98 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ALASKA. 



in the water, and at times it was impossible to hold it in position, as the mass of moving fish car- 

 ried it along with them. 



Any kind of fresh fish may be used as bait on a small cod-hook for these fish. A piece of 

 scarlet flannel tied above the hook is good to attract the fish, as they will then bite voraciously. 



With the hook a person can catch the fish as fast as put into the water. With the use of sev- 

 eral hooks on one line several fish may be taken at once. With the gaff the fish are taken in great 

 quantities, equal to all demands. The run lasts at Attu until July 25th, after which the fish are 

 spent and slowly disappear from the waters. 



These fish were not known at Attu previous to 1875. They came unexpectedly and were caught 

 on hooks set for other fish. Since that time the people have had an abundance of them. From my 

 own observations I am led to assert that 500 barrels of 200 pounds each can be procured at Attu 

 in the season from June 1 to July 31. A.t the entrance to Ohichagof Harbor is the only known 

 locality at Attu where these fish resort. The natives assert that the coming of these fish was 

 coincident with the disappearance of the sea-lion Eumetopias stelleri; and those natives maintain 

 that the fish drove the sea-lions off. Just opposite to my own conclusions, for I think the fish 

 come to those places where they will be least persecuted by the sea-lions. 



These fish are also reported to be abundant at Kiska Island, between the islands of Atkha and 

 Athakh. Also between Unalga and Unalashka, and also in the passes between some of the Shu- 

 magin Islands. I saw a few individuals in Captain's Harbor, Unalashka Island, in the early part 

 of July, 1881. This is the first instance of their occurrence in that locality. Tbey were small in 

 size, and of the size which constitutes the upper stratum as spoken of in regard to the disposition 

 of the fish on the spawning grounds of Amlia Pass. 



This fish could be easily taken in great quantities, especially at Amlia .Pass and Attu. Some 

 writers of Alaskan affairs have mentioned exorbitant prices paid for a barrel of salted fish of this 

 kind. They can be prepared at a cost of two dollars per barrel for the fish at eithrr Attu or Am- 

 lia. The cost of the barrel and salt, of course, is to be added. Only the necessary sheds for pro- 

 tecting the barrels from the weather would have to be erected. Native help could be procured at 

 a cost of a dollar per day for a man, and fifty to seventy-five cents per day for the women, who 

 can clean the fish as expertly as the men. 



Ere many years these fish will command a highly remunerative price to those who will engage 

 in the enterprise. 



Nothing has been done by either trading company in the matter of bringing these fish into 

 a market. 



In the beginning of this article I gave the various names used by the white people who have 

 become acquainted with the fish only on reputation. The Russian-speaking people refer to them 

 as Soo dach Ice', a diminutive form of Soo dale, meaning a sangre, or perch pike. The natives of 

 Unalashka and Atkha Islands speak of them, in the Aleutian language, as Ta mu'th ghes, while 

 the Attu people call them Tti'v ween. At Atkha, on June 18, 1880, 1 had several specimens brought 

 to me for purposes of description, the notes of which are as follows : 



Male, adult, June 18, 1880 : 



Dorsal outline, from anterior spine of dorsal fin, gradually sloping to the base of caudal ; ante- 

 rior to the dorsal fin the outline is descending for two fifths its length to end of snout, though having 

 a slight upward curve directly in the center; anterior to the boundary of this prominence the 

 occipital outline begins, and continues a direct slope to the end of the suout. The abdominal out- 

 line is moderately decurved ; the post-abdominal line is nearly straight in its slight ascent to the 

 base of the caudal ray. The thoracic and gill outline is gradually ascending to the base of the 

 inter-maxillary bones, while the line from the base of these to the mentum is rat her abrupt, ascending 

 at an angle of forty-five degrees. The body has its greatest vertical depth at the base of the four- 

 teenth spine of the dorsal tin. The greatest lateral thickness is at the intersection of the same line 

 at a right angle, gradually becoming thinner as it approaches the base of the anal fin, where it 

 preserves a uniform thickness, giving great strength to the caudal rays. The coloration is ex- 

 tremely variable, generally dark (light in some specimens), olive (nearly approaching black in some 

 specimens) on the dorsum and above the median lateral line; below this line, especially on the 

 sides, and posterior to the vent, are five bands, or bars, the three anterior bands becoming obscure 



